Wednesday 6 April 2011

Busy doing nothing...

...nothing blog relevant, I mean. Hence the lack of posting recently; work, laundry, house-hunting and sleeping do not make ideal content for a 'fun at the weekend' blog (although they are pretty much tied up with the 'living on a moderate income' bit of the whole thing). And so, with only the moderate guilt I serve forth the blog equivalent of Findus Crispy Pancakes- filling, lowbrow, quick and tasty...but perhaps lacking the substance of a gourmet meal. Oh, unlike Findus Crispy Pancakes, I'm not going to pop over your gaff and burn the top of your mouth of with superheated plastic cheese. Which is a bonus.


I personally enjoy a bit of trashy student food now and again, although having to eat it takes all the joy out of it. I'd rather have something plain and simple to cook (and wash up ... something Jamie doesn't count in his 30 minute meals) like an omelette, and really relish dirty food like pizza when I do have it. It's better for the waistline and the teeth, too, I suppose!



For quick, proper food, I have been relying on my oooold cook-books for frugal and quick rarebit/egg recipes (check out this link, fellow old-book-junkies, and this one for wartime recipes- with some more below!) but most of all, have discovered a new passion for that saucy minx Nigella. I have not broken my Lenten code (I am being veeery good) but am borrowing from my local library (that's another rant for another day... use your libraries people!!). Nigella has some fantastic recipes where good pasta is combined with herbs, oil and lemon and they have been lifesavers.

As promised, some vintage recipes for your delectation (under those rather amusing pics):





Retro Housewife: gold-dust for retro cooking fans, hundreds of usable (and 'hmmm maybe not') recipes. Not rationing-affected as international.
War Detectives: a recipe book (pdf) full of wartime snacks. This is the kind of thing I mean by old-fashioned-snacks...I always have some veg and spuds to hand.
UK Home Front: recipes from a 1940s kitchen, again, some useful and some fascinating.
Retro Recipes: does exactly what it says on the (gaudy, 60s) tin.
Finally... a recipe for Woolton Pie. I make a mean Woolton pie - I use a stock-based white sauce (i.e. no milk, just a stock cube and water) and find the texture preferential.

11 comments:

  1. Hi my dear-the Woolton pie does look delicious, I must admit I haven't had spam for years and am not in much hurry to have it anytime soon either xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello chuck - you do make me laugh!! I've only just noticed the handwriting thingie you kindly posted in my comments - I'm so sorry - I shall do it laterererer!!! xx

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love mi some nigella and a bit of pie.
    your always so funny.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love vintage cookbooks, I just bought a good housekeeping 60's one - fab!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I just can't do vintage cookbooks, there isn't exactly a plethora of veggie recipes in them ha ha! But when I was a kid one of my fave foods were spam fritters at school YUCK!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Some of the war time ones are OK for veggies... I suppose they didn't have any meat! For example that woolton pie is basically a mixed veg pie with a stock-based 'white' (ie flour based) sauce.

    ReplyDelete
  7. House hunting is fun, I guess. I'm glad you're not mouth burning, that is good to know!

    I can't do Nigella, well I guess it comes from me being a total helpless case in the kitchen, I even burn water and once friend an egg on a George Formby.

    have a great weekend, x

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hello:

    What fun ideas you give here for a perfectly retro dinner party....just requiring the retro guests but surely you know some candidates?!!

    We are newcomers to the blog world and are thrilled to have found you so early on via 'Fashion's Most Wanted'. We have so enjoyed reading your posts and shall return as Followers!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ha ha I haven't seen those for years!! we used to have them all the time after school x

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love a cheese Findus Crispy Pancake every now and then, and I'll bet even Nigella could make Spam sexy.
    xxx

    ReplyDelete
  11. Haha! What a blast from the past! Spam and peaches looks bonkers.

    My corner shop has just started stocking crispy pancakes. I bought the minced beef ones last week and cooked them when I came in from the pub. I did burn them slightly and there wasn't a lot of filling but I ate them anyway!

    The Woolton pie looks great! xx

    ReplyDelete

Let me know what you think!